The burgeoning organic direction of deep house during the late '90s -- which gathered influences from disco to jazz-funk to Brazilian jazz -- was pushed along by Jephté Guillaume, not just a producer and vocalist but an in-demand bassist around New York's hip-hop and acid jazz scene since the early '90s. Born in Haiti, Guillaume moved to New York as a child, fleeing the Duvalier regime along with his family. Once settled, he began playing at an early age, taking bass while his brother Donald worked on drums. By the beginning of the '90s, the two began recording with the Haitian-music group Rara Machine. Guillaume also played with the world collective Vodu 155, and with the post-bop acid jazz group Abstract Truth.

Amidst much work in group situations, Jephté Guillaume also began recording on his own and released his debut single, One Respect, in 1994 for the house label Metropolitan. By 1997, The Prayer (his first single for Joe Claussell's Spiritual Life Music) became a massive underground house hit, driven by deep Latin vibes, acoustic guitar, and Guillaume's own vocals. Hot on its heels came a series of similar recordings (Kanpé, Lakou-A, and Ibo Lele) for Spiritual Life, each balancing Guillaume's knowledge of Caribbean grooves with the increasingly organic feel of New York house (thanks in part to Claussell's popular club-night, Body Soul). His album debut Voyage of Dreams appeared on Chrysalis in 1998. Most of Guillaume's Spiritual Life work was collected on the compilation, Spiritual Life Music. ~ John Bush, Rovi